I recently got a 5x8 tarp/poncho from BPL's Gear Swap, and ordered some lightweight cord. I had been using a 8x10 tarp with guylines cut to Jardine's recomendations. That worked pretty well, although I often had unused cord hanging off my tarp (price you pay for a versatile system). A few questions to ease my learning curve with the smaller tarp:

-To what lengths do most people pre-cut their guylines?

- Are you able to put up multiple configurations without re-arranging the guys?

- What weight cord do you use? I had problems one cold, wet night in Yosemite with some of the Aircore2 when we were setting up the tarp for group use in a stand of trees.

- Do you keep an extra length of cord as a lifter for the hood?

I thought that this info was already noted somewhere on BPL.com, but couldn't find it.

In my experience, it is best to have longer guylines on the "front" part of the A-frame than the "tail". Usually about 1.5 times as long. Typically the front ridgeline tie is about seven feet and the rear ridgeline is about four. The rear corners are about six or eight inches and the front corners are about a foot. I used aircore pro cord for the corners and ridgelines in my latest restringing.

I usually keep a few extra pieces of aircore pro, one about six feet and one about three feet to extend the ridgeline in some situations, particularly when tying around big trees or to fit into a particular site.

I also carry about four twelve-inch sections of aircore2 with an overhand loop on one end. I use these for side pullouts or for extending the corners if I need to.

I use an Oware 10’x10’ flat tarp with a customized extra guy loop located in the center of the ridgeline. Even though it may be a little bigger than some would use, I find it extremely versatile, roomy and little worry of any splashing.

The 10x10 tarp has 5 guy loops on each side, and I usually only tie down 2 sides. I have precut 10 pieces of Aircore 2 to 22 inches and tie a loop at each end, leaving 18 inches end-to-end. From here you can change your length from a girth hitched 18 inches to 9 inches by doubling the line and passing it through the guy loop before staking. You can double the line again and make it a 4.5 inch guy line. Lower than 4.5 inches, you might as well anchor it to the ground. I then have four 4 foot sections with loops at each end so they can be girth hitched as needed for extra length when making an A-Frame. I do need to carry 12 stakes in case I use all tie downs with an A-Frame.

I do not keep my guy lines attached to the tarp. Girth hitching is easy to do and you might not need to tie down all points. I keep each precut piece coiled and use only as needed. When breaking camp, I re-coil each guy line used.

On occasions I have used the “Bombproof” shelter as shown in the book “Lighten up” by Don Ladigin. This is a variation of the ‘Flying Diamond’ using my 50 foot paracord to set up between 2 trees and is a very durable shelter.

I also carry a 5X8 Poncho. I always set mine up trapezoidal (sp?). This has five of the six tie-outs flat to the ground with the center tie-out on one side supportied by a hiking staff. The is the most waterproof pitch that I could find. I can only pull it off because I am 5' 7". To Pitch I use a 4ft. section for the hiking staff and a 12ft. section to tie the hood to a tree. I use Kelty Triptease line because I have oodles of it left over from a previous project.

I hate cutting my nice cord into small pieces, which are invariably the wrong length, so I use one long piece of cord and weave it between the tie-outs and stakes. It takes twice the cord length and one extra stake per side, but this technique makes it very easy to retension. Since there is 'extra' cord for the tarp, some can be used if needed for emergency repairs.

You can see an example of this in the first photo in BPL's "Advanced Tarp Camping Techniques for Inclement Conditions" article, which is recommended reading.

Doug, I have read that article as well and thought it was a good idea. Have you had the opportunity to make adjustments once set up? I wonder if you can just take one end and pull the line to bring the tarp closer to the ground without having to reset the stakes?

>I wonder if you can just take one end and pull the line to bring the tarp closer to the ground without having to reset the stakes?

I don't see why not. If the stakes aren't really solid or there's too much friction between the cord and the guy points, it may be better to work the slack through the guy points starting from one end, but as long as the other side is loosened then the tarp should shift over and down. If you want both sides closer to the ground then you will have to lower the ridgeline.

> i can understand the guying arrangement you speak of. one question: how do you handle adjusting the two ridgeline guylines?

There are (at least) two ways to rig the ridgeline: have a separate guyline, or place your corner stakes far forward and run the cord from those through the ridgeline guy point. This allows the entire tarp to be pitched with a single cord and it removes the two-stake penalty for this rigging method because you don't need two separate ridgeline guy stakes. The drawbacks are that you might find the angled ridgeline guys get in your way, and it's harder to get snappy ridgeline tension.

I played with my 5x8 tarp/poncho last weekend and tried some different pitches. The modified A-frame/Lean-to pitch that Ryan shows in many of his photos had some obvious advantages. However, the low pitched A-frame didn't give me much headspace, and I'm only 5'6".

I recognize that setting up the poles 1-1.5 feet from the ends helps. Any other tips on how to make it easier to crawl in and out of the tarp...particularly in wet, muddy weather?